Twin social media influencers Alan and Alex Stokes, 23, famously known for their prank videos on YouTube, are now facing felony charges for allegedly posing as bank robbers and staging a fake robbery in Irvine, California.
According to a statement put out by the Office of the District Attorney, Orange County, California, the twins could face up to four years of imprisonment on the grounds of “violence, menace, fraud or deceit and one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting an emergency” if they are found guilty.
In October 2019, the twins appeared to be running away from a fake bank robbery wearing all black attire including ski masks, carrying duffle bags of money. They then jumped into an Uber but after getting refused a ride from the Uber driver the twins decided to get off.
Bystanders on seeing this exchange taking place, immediately called the police. When police arrived on the scene it was reported that they had held the Uber driver at gunpoint but released him after they realized he was not involved.
Police issued the brothers a warning. However, just a while later they were caught executing the same prank on the University of California campus and 911 calls were made.
Todd Spitzer, the District Attorney of Orange County said: “These were not pranks.” He added: “Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect the public and when someone calls 911 to report an active bank robbery, they are going to respond to protect lives.”
The siblings had amassed a following of over 4.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 25.4 million followers on TikTok. A video of the prank was uploaded on their channel but was taken down. However, they still haven’t commented on the current situation.
In which instances do you think pranks cross a line?
Leve your thought in the comments below!